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The view from the village of Mai Hịch, Mai Châu district, Hòa Bình Province
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Hello, Uncle Wilson!
Today I'm going to tell you about the great party our medical team had in Mai Hịch, but first you get to hear about the clinic we held. The clinic took place in the community meeting building, below, and since we were all on unfamiliar turf, we started with a little bit of improvisation.
For example, in order to record height, team leader John Phillips first of all had to create the "yardstick." He started out with a bunch of sticky notes like those pink ones on the pole to his left in the picture below.
Then Robert opened his "10 esssentials" bag in his backpack and pulled out some medical tape, which pinned down the sticky notes. John used a tape measure to mark off the inches. The tape measure was also used to line up the top of patients' heads with the marks on the tape.
Below, to solve the problem for those who didn't know how to stand on a scale, tiny feet were drawn to plant the idea. It must have been bad art, because many patients needed verbal instructions to keep from covering the window with their feet.
The center filled up fast, with standing room only. In the foreground, a man wove a net while he waited his turn. Afterward he walked up to Robert to compare heights. Robert responded by standing on tip toes. So did this guy.
You know that "Bloody Mary" song from
South Pacific? ("Bloody Mary's chewin' betel nuts. She is always chewin' betel nuts....") Well betel nuts blacken your teeth, just like the teeth in the lady in the photo above. Now you know about betel nuts.
The man in the photo below was carrying the infant on his back in a broad cloth.
Above, a 100-year old lady sat for photos and adulation with her 85-year old daughter. Afterward, she rode off with her son, below.
Just because it was clinic day didn't mean you don't have to work. I'm not sure what the lady in the photo above was doing--harvesting plants? Tending to a small fish farm?
But the woman inthis photo was clearly sprucing up her water buffalo. Note the rope through the nose.The rope reminds buffalo who their friends are, but they keep a wary eye on strangers.
Upstairs in the center, this bust of Uncle Ho, hero of the country even in death, maintained a watchful eye on the clinic.
Across the room from Ho, Gina Panattoni taught some toddlers the fundamentals of Teeny Weeny Spider-- or is it Itsy Bitsy Spider? I forget.
At the next table, Kimo Hirayama, a Seattle doctor, interviewed a patient with the help of Le Nhu Yen, an exchange student with Seattle Colleges, the three community colleges that sponsor the Global Impact program which sent health teams to Peru, Moracco and Vietnam this summer. Yen has a home in Hanoi.
Sue Nguyen, right, translated the patient's information for Jennifer Hazard, a former army nurse.
Every interview began by checking vitals--blood pressure and heart rate. Joanne Lee fitted a cuff on this patient.
Born in America of Vietnamese heritage, Tim Ho is a student of respiratory therapy. While he speaks some Vietnamese, he relied on translation by Dau Thi Thu, an executive with Buffalo Tours, the company that shepherded the Seattle team on its mission. Participating in the interview was Andy Youn, right.
When you don't have an office water machine dispenser, you put the faucet at the bottom of the bottle. The medical team worked for several hours and the day was hot, so they filled their water bottles from these jugs before starting out.
Kids were excited about the clinic and wanted to meet the foreigners. Every kid in Mai Hich could say "hello," and "bye," and they all did. Frequently.
They also wanted their pictures taken.
And they all wanted to try out the scale.
When the clinic was over, it was time to prepare for the party. Tinh, our guide from Buffalo Tours, wrote slogans on the One World Futbols which would be given to the community.
Two slogans were suggested by the medical staff: Nurse Jennifer Hazard suggested "brush your teeth." Dr. Kimo Hiyarama suggested "drink water, not soda."
Tinh suggested "work hard, play hard.
The fourth slogan came from the Wilson campaign: "Someone loved a stranger."
The evening began with an exceptional meal by the host family, followed by presentation by the medical team of appreciation gifts, held by the husband and wife -- bright solar-powered LED lanterns, which can operate for 8-10 hours on a charge. They are only $15 at REI, but you can't find anything like that in Mai Hich when the lights go out.
And until now, they didn't have One World Futbols, either.
After nightfall and the party got started, Tinh put me right into the hands of the village's recreational director. I think Robert stuck a knife in me to show him how tough we are, but quite frankly, I'm not sure, because I don't remember little things like stab wounds.
What I do remember, however, is Tinh translating the slogans, and explaining that you can't buy these balls in a store, because they are a direct gift from donors like our readers, who will never have the opportunity to meet these folks, because "somebody loved a stranger."
By the way, these villagers know how to throw a party!
Even out in the country they had fancy-schmancy outfits to dance in.
This fan dance at times looked like a flower opening up.
The medical team tried to do this stick dance with the natives, with mixed results.
Then they put on a show of their own, by introducing the locals to the Macarena, which is a little naughty, but we didn't explain
that.
Afterward, they all got in a big line and danced around this big jar with very long bamboo straws sticking out of it. Some people seemed to dance even better after taking a few pulls on a straw. I wouldn't know, because I can't dance, being that I have no feet.
Love,
Jean Baptiste, and Robert
Itsy Bitsy Spider, Robert.
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